Record brood for rare bird colony

The little tern is one of the UK's rarest sea birds

A colony of rare sea birds in County Durham has had a record breeding year.

Little terns are among the UK's rarest seabirds and the colony at the mouth of Crimdon Dene has become one of the most successful in the UK.

The Industry Nature Conservation Association (INCA) set up a protective fence in 2005 and there are now 57 breeding pairs at the site.

Ornithologists have ringed a total of 108 chicks so far this breeding year, and it is hoped there is more to come.

A project, co-ordinated by INCA and involving Durham Countryside Service, Hartlepool Rangers and Natural England, includes wardens patrolling the site.

The protection is necessary because little terns, as ground nesting birds, are vulnerable to disturbance by man and are prey to foxes, black headed gulls and hedgehogs.

Geoff Barber, of INCA, which is based at the Wilton International site near Redcar, said: "The colony has done really well and 108 chicks is a record.

"Now, as the young start to fledge, the only real risk to them would be a period of bad weather."